Da Couch Tomato

An attempt at a new layout, with horrible glitches, and very minimal knowledge of HTML.

Cinema, television, literature, and music–basically anything that can be reviewed. If you're interested in writing reviews, e-mail us at dacouchtomato@gmail.com. We won't pay you for reviews, but you get to practise your writing skills. It's a win-win situation for everyone.

Doctor Who. Series 1

I'm a person who started with the Eleventh Doctor. Yes, I may be a late bloomer. Yes, having Matt Smith as the first Doctor I've ever met makes me a clear noob. But I loved the show so much that I decided to travel back in time myself─that is, travel back to 2005, when this show came back on the air after a very long absence.

So I went back two Doctors, to the Ninth, played by Christopher Eccleston. And of course, being human, I couldn't help but compare Eccleston to Matt Smith, who was the only other Doctor I knew. Here's some of the things I've noticed:

Matt Smith speaks way faster than Christopher Eccleston.

Matt Smith is goofier than Christopher Eccleston.

Matt Smith has a hotter companion than Christopher Eccleston.

But let's not compare, shall we? They're the same Doctor, the same Time Lord from Gallifrey, with the same two hearts beating in his chest cavity. And since we're not comparing Doctors, let's not compare head writers as well. Russell T. Davies is not Steven Moffat. Christopher Eccleston is not Matt Smith. And Karen Gillan is not Billie Piper.

1. "Rose"

BBC

Mickey (Noel Clarke) is my favorite character, hands down.
And not just because he has an original Bumblebee.

What a way to start off the reincarnated series─by featuring creepy mannequins. As a kid, I was damn terrified of mannequins. My uncle would try and get me close to a mannequin, and I would bawl my eyes out crying. I always thought they would come alive. And I guess I'm not the only one who thinks so.

2. "The End of the World"

BBC

Woah.

Rose Tyler (Billie Piper)'s first voyage aboard the TARDIS, and she goes where? (Clue: It's in the title.) They've landed in some sort of intergalactic convention or something. Probably as a sort of introduction to the fans, like "Look fans, this is a science fiction show, with a really, really big universe, with lots and lots of aliens." Like the Trees, the Face of Boe (a.k.a. the gigantic head), and Lady Cassandra O'Brien.Δ17. Yes, that's "dot delta 17". That beats the apostrophes on most science fiction characters.

3. "The Unquiet Dead"

BBC

Spot the alien.

Oy, it's written by Mark Gatiss! As in Mycroft Holmes-Mark Gatiss. And he writes about Charles Dickens. And spirits. Spirits who animate the dead. In other words: zombies. So it's Charles Dickens and zombies. Wicked.

4. "Aliens of London"

BBC

Big Ben Crash. BBC, get it?

Farting aliens, farting aliens, and farting aliens. That's all this show is about. Also Downing Street. And all because an alien spacecraft crash-landed in the middle of London. Good thing about this episode: more Mickey Smith.

Mickey's still here, which is a good thing. This is, by the way, the second half of a double episode. Not that much farting, though, because we get to see the aliens in their natural form. They only fart when wearing human skin.

6. "Dalek"

BBC

And that's how they look like under the armor.

This marks the first time that the infamous Daleks grace telly screens since this show's comeback. And they give us some crappy plunger action, some R2-D2 flying, and a glimpse at the real Dalek inside the armor (clue: yuck). They also have a familiar Hollywood face here by the name of Cody Johnson.

Also, I noticed that the Ninth Doctor is a bit of a dramatic Doctor. He's quite sentimental, and it shows in his acting. I couldn't help but compare him to Matt Smith's Eleventh, who always seems to be the goofy oddball.

7. "The Long Game"

BBC

"WTF..." -Everyone

The great thing with watching this in retrospect is that you get to identify some of the actors. Cathica, for instance, was played by Christine Adams, the beautiful Sixer from Terra Nova. Then there's the Editor, who at first glance looked like Michael Sheen, but as soon as he turned his head at an angle, could be clearly identified as Simon Pegg. And good riddance to you, Adam. You are one lousy companion.

8. "Father's Day"

BBC

"Surprise!"

Rose and the Doctor travel back to 1987, and mess up time by saving Rose's dad from imminent death. As I said, this show doesn't follow the split-timeline theory of time travel. Which is a bummer. And what are the clues that this takes place in the 80s? First, the mention of "Betamax"; second, the groom's dad's huge dinosaur cellphone; and third, Rick Astley on the radio. And is there any clue that tells us that this show doesn't actually take place in 1987? Mike Skinner on the radio. The Streets is definitely new millenium music.

9. "The Empty Child"

BBC

Oh yes. That's Rose in the middle.

Wow, a Steven Moffat episode. And in World War II. Brilliant! Moffat is really great with creepy plots and creepy characters. And trust me, there is nothing more creepy than a little boy in a gas mask going "Are you my mummy?" over and over again.

Also, Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), who according to IMDb is Scottish-American. That explains the accent. I wonder if he's a Moffat creation.

10. "The Doctor Dances"

BBC

This show's title comes from the dance sequence.
Which happens at the end.

Another Steven Moffat episode, which is a continuation of the first. Yes, there still are those creepy people in gas masks. Turns out that's the work of nanogenes, which cured the little boy thinking that gas masks are part of human physiology. Long story. Anyway, turns out that the girl is the boy's mummy. Who would've thought, right? So as the Doctor and Rose fly off in the TARDIS, they gain a new companion─Captain Jack. Harkness, not Sparrow.

11. "Boom Town"

BBC

Mickey's expression: Priceless.

Return of the fart aliens, who we will learn are called the Slitheen. I'm not sure if that's the name of the species, though. But I do know they come from a planet called Raxacoricofallapatorius. Or something like that.

All in all, nice episode. The TARDIS gets a bit crowded with both Captain Jack and Mickey on board. There's comedy (or an attempt at) in that cute restaurant scene. There's also drama when Mickey reveals that he is going out with someone else already, a girl named Tricia Delaney. There's more drama in the scene where the fat alien begs for her life─and then dies.

Also, one more thing we learn in this episode: the TARDIS has a heart. Which makes it alive. Weird, innit?

12. "Bad Wolf"

BBC

Yes, that's what it looks like: The Weakest Link.

One of the better episodes in this series. I just love the gay house music. The Doctor, Rose, and Captain Jack end up back at Satellite 5 and play a game show: Captain Jack's in some fashion makeover show, the Doctor is in a Big Brother-type show, while Rose ends up in The Weakest Link. Rose loses, sad to say. But she wasn't disintegrated. Just transported somewhere.

Also, this episode marks the first mention of "Torchwood". I learned that it's a Doctor Who spin-off, which I have yet to watch.

13. "The Parting of the Ways"

BBC

This is what regeneration looks like.

Daleks. And warships. And more Daleks. And the god of the Daleks. This is the series finale, so you can bet that everyone's going to pitch in and help. That includes Mickey and Jackie, of course. Rose looks into the heart of the TARDIS, which no one is meant to see (she actually looked into the time vortex). Another stupid move by Rose, of course, but what did you expect? Now the Doctor has to sacrifice himself to save her, and in the process, turn into... the Tenth.

That marks the end of the first series since the show's revival, and also the end of the Ninth Doctor. Christopher Eccleston didn't do a bad job, but he didn't do a good job either. In fact, I have no regrets at all replacing Eccleston with David Tennant. You'll see that a bit later when we get to Series 2.